Page 84 of Breathe Me In

I turned to watch Stanley as he moved slowly toward Captain, and something odd passed through me. Stanley was young, smart, and quick. To think he didn’t see a man running toward him made the hair on my neck go up. I hated to think badly about a fellow officer, but my gut told me that it was odd. But I had bigger shit to deal with first.

My phone rang, and I answered it without looking at the ID. “Stone.”

“Hi, Detective Stone, it’s Rudy Vamp. Remember me from the impound yard?”

“Yes, of course I do, Rudy. You have something for me?”

“Yeah, well I was going through that Ram and found something.”

I held up a finger to Kennedy so he wouldn’t walk away. “Okay, I’m listening.” I tapped the screen and moved the call to speaker so he could hear.

“I think I might know who ran your partner off the road.”

Chapter Fourteen

Bree

I was in heaven. A sound I had missed so much after I left home was the sound of a horse’s hooves when they crunched the brittle leaves of autumn. It was a beautiful morning as Patrick led the way along a rarely used path near the lake. He explained he didn’t want to run into any guests. It was obvious my brother was struggling with something, and when he had asked me to join him for a ride at breakfast, I had known it had to be important. Plus, Brad had a meeting this morning, and I knew I could spare a few hours for my brother.

“I miss seeing you in flannel,” he teased. I looked down at my hunter green flannel jacket. I needed it at least until the sun warmed the day. My light jeans and white T-shirt weren’t enough to keep out the chill. “It’s a good look for you.”

“Thanks.” I steered Toby around a fallen log and wondered when Patrick was going to open up. It was a twin thing to sense what the other might be feeling, and in that moment, I felt he was all twisted up inside and needed to get whatever it was out. As someone who lived that way daily, I totally got it.

My history of working with runaway kids also had taught me how consuming mixed-up feelings could be. If not handled right, they could make things way worse. I needed him to bring it up first.

We came over a big hill to a clearing and stopped to admire the view of our ranch. I looked over at the Stones’ property and Ronnie’s cabin a little farther up the lake. People paid money to come here, but we got to live here. Since I’d been back, I had repeated that sentence to myself more than a few times to remember how truly lucky I was to have this place to call home. “Oh man, Patrick, I just can’t believe what you guys have done with the ranch.”

“Mm” was all he offered me.

“This time of year, it’s like a watercolor coming alive.”

Patrick adjusted his beloved cowboy hat that Dad had given him as a graduation present and squinted over at me. “I’m going to need you to pray, Bree.” He pulled his chin in like he might lose it. “This is a hard one.”

Everything faded away as his words filtered through. I nodded and gathered myself for what he might say. I tried hard to give him a moment to get hold of himself but finally had to ask. “Is it Mom or Dad? I know Mom was sick before. Is it back? Is it Dad? He never gets sick sick!”

“Bree, no one’s sick.”

So many things ran through my head. Shit, what if it was Charley? I knew he wasn’t back from visiting his mother. Maybe something had happened.

“No one is sick,” he repeated as if he knew my head was still there.

“Oh, thank God.” I blew out some air and tried to calm myself. Then my brain pushed a thought forward, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it before. He and Maxine had been distant lately. “Maxine?” The muscles around his mouth tightened, and his eyes went glossy. “What’s going on, Patrick?”

“I think she’s seeing someone.”

I couldn’t help my reaction, but I tipped my head back and laughed loudly. It echoed off the hills and found us again. It made my asshole-sister moment that much worse. “Sorry, I’m sorry.” I tried to pull myself back in, but it was a struggle. “Patrick, that woman is so madly in love with you, she trips over her own feet when you walk into a room—she texts me about you almost daily. I mean, come on, she lights up whenever anyone so much as mentions your name. You don’t do that if you have a sidepiece. So,” I said and swatted him with my reins, “why on God’s green earth would you go there?”

He bit his upper lip the way he did when he was little, and I noticed he tightened his grip around the horn of the saddle. “There’s this doctor.”

“Okay, let me stop you right there. Maxine hates doctors.”

“Normally yes, but this new guy started, and she’s been gushing over how great he’s been. And whenever he’s in surgery, she’s his right hand. She’s missed dinner three times in the last two weeks because Doctor McSteamy wants her to work.”

“Oh, man, turn off Grey’s Anatomy and watch some true crime.”

He rolled his eyes at me. He knew I watched more drama shows than he and Maxine combined. “I’m serious, Bree. I’m actually nervous for us. She’s taking on extra shifts, barely can hold her head up in the evenings, and mutters about how she should just sleep at the hospital because it’d be easier than coming home. That shit plays on a guy. She walks around like a zombie. I suggested she take some time off to get some rest, but she wouldn’t hear it.”

“All right.” He had a point. “I agree it looks bad, but we’re talking about Maxine here. Look, Patrick, I’ve got the weekend off—why don’t I swing by and see what I can find out?”